Bee Sting Cake

Bee sting cake isn’t your average layer cake. Honestly, it seems that this German dessert took the definition of cake as simply a suggestion—and that’s exactly what we love about it! The cake itself has more of a bread-meets-cake texture than the sponge we’re used to. In lieu of frosting, a crunchy almond-honey topping is baked onto the dough. After baking, it’s cut horizontally and a fluffy, homemade cream filling is smothered right in between the two cake layers. German bee sting cake is a refreshing reminder that not everything has to fit the status quo.

Ingredients for Bee Sting Cake

• Sugar: We sweeten the cake ever so slightly with just 1/4 cup of sugar.
• Yeast: The quirk of this cake is that it’s not actually cake per say—it’s more of a cross between bread and cake, and activated yeast makes it so!
• All-purpose flour: As mentioned above, this cake is a cross between bread and cake, which is why all-purpose flour’s mix of hard and soft wheat is preferred here.
• Whole milk: Feel free to use whole milk, buttermilk or heavy whipping cream. Try not to use any milk with a lower fat percentage, though, like skim or oat milk.
• Butter: You’ll need a little more than 5 tablespoons of butter for the cake. Cube the butter so it melts easily into the milk.
• Eggs: To bring eggs to room temperature, take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before starting the recipe.
• Filling: We’ll be making a pastry cream from scratch for this recipe. Once the pastry cream is thoroughly chilled, it will be folded with homemade whipped cream.
• Topping: This bee sting cake has a lovely nutty topping that’s made up of cooked almonds, butter, honey and sugar.

Directions

Step 1: Make the custard

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In a small heavy saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in the milk. Cook and stir the mixture over medium heat until it’s thickened and bubbly. Reduce the heat to low, and cook and stir for two minutes longer. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Pour a small amount of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks and whisk immediately. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, whisking constantly. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Cook and whisk the mixture for two minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Stir in butter until melted. Immediately pour the pastry cream into a clean bowl, then stir in the vanilla extract. Let the mixture cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Press storage wrap onto the surface of the filling, and refrigerate it until it’s cold.

Step 2: Fold in the whipped cream

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Reconstitute the custard by whisking it gently. Fold in half the whipped cream, then fold in the remaining whipped cream. Cover with storage wrap and refrigerate.

Step 3: Make the dough

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In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, yeast, salt and 1 cup of flour. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter to 120° to 130°F. Add the hot milk mixture to the dry ingredients, and beat on medium speed for one minute. Add the eggs, and beat on high for one minute. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Keep in mind that the dough will be sticky.

Step 4: Knead

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Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface. Knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic, six to eight minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with storage wrap or a clean tea towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about one hour.

Step 5: Create the almond topping

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While the dough is rising, make the almond topping. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, honey and sugar. Cook and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and stir in the almonds. Set it aside to cool slightly at room temperature.

Step 6: Let the dough rise

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Punch down the dough with your knuckles. Transfer the dough to a greased 9-inch springform baking pan, pressing the dough to evenly fill the pan.

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Spoon the almond mixture over the top of the dough and gently spread to cover the entire surface.

Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, 25 to 30 minutes. During the last 15 minutes or so, preheat your oven to 350°F.

Step 7: Bake

Bake the dough until the topping is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the dough on a wire rack at room temperature for 10 minutes. Loosen the side from the pan with a knife. Cool for an hour longer.

Step 8: Cut the cake

Remove the cake from the base of the springform pan. Using a long serrated knife, cut the cake in half horizontally. Place the bottom half of your cake on your serving dish.

Step 9: Add the filling

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Spread the cream filling on top of the bottom cake layer. Replace the top of the cake. Serve the cake immediately. Chill any leftovers.

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Recipe Variations

• Take a shortcut: Skip making the homemade custard and use a vanilla pudding mix instead. Proceed with the recipe as directed by folding the whipped cream into the custard before filling the cake.
• Add a second filling: A fruit filling pairs nicely with the custard filling. Try cherries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches or plums in fresh, macerated or jam form.
• Change the flavor of the pastry cream: Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love vanilla pastry cream as is. But if you want to up the flavor of this bee sting cake recipe, check out our tips on how to make pastry cream. From chocolate and coffee to lemon and berries, there’s a whole world of pastry cream flavors to try!

How to Store Bee Sting Cake

To store bee sting cake, cover the cake with storage wrap and place it in the fridge. It can be kept for up to three days.

Can you make bee sting cake ahead of time?

Absolutely! You can bake the cake with its topping the night before serving. Once it’s cooled to room temperature, wrap the cake tightly with storage wrap and keep it at room temperature. You can also make the pastry cream the night before. Don’t add the whipped cream to it until you’re ready to fill the cake and serve.

Bee Sting Cake Tips

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What does bienenstich mean?

Bienenstich is the German word for bee sting. There are multiple legends about how this delicious honey-almond dessert was named. Some claim a German baker created this cake recipe and bees were instantly attracted to it, which resulted in the baker getting stung. Another story says that during a long-ago battle, German villagers defended themselves by dropping beehives from their city walls onto the attackers. The other army fled and the townspeople celebrated by baking (and eating!) this cake.

How do I serve bee sting cake?

The best way to serve a bee sting cake is with a cup of tea, a mug of hot coffee or with sweet after-dinner drinks like German Eiswein (ice wine), a fresh, floral-tasting brandy or a cocktail that’s made with Kahlua, like a zippy espresso martini.

What are other German desserts?

Try your hand at some of our other favorite German dessert recipes the next time you bake: German apple cake, lebkuchen and rich fruit kuchens.